Alabama Basketball — Alabama fans show their excitement for their Final Four bound men’s basketball team. (Caleb Turrentine / The Bama Buzz)

Alabama fans had to wait a couple of hours more than they expected before welcoming the Crimson Tide’s first ever Final Four-bound team back to Tuscaloosa after a slight delay with the team’s flight home from Los Angeles. But fans did not allow that to dampen their excitement Sunday afternoon.

We got to be a part of that crowd and here are some of the best sights and sounds from the airport!

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The team landed just after 4 p.m. and players got off the plane to big cheers from the crowd of fans next to the runway. The Easter Bunny even came out to celebrate and quickly became a fan favorite, helping pass the time before the Crimson Tide landed and grabbed the spotlight.

There was even an appearance from the Easter Bunny! pic.twitter.com/gsTxYTwXOz
— TheBamaBuzz (@buzz_bama) March 31, 2024

The traveling Tide

This is the first time the team has returned home since its tournament run began almost two weeks ago. After playing the first two rounds in Spokane, Washington, the team went straight to Los Angeles for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. If you missed any of it, here’s a quick look at the run so far:

First round: #4 Alabama 109, #13 Charleston 96
Second round: #4 Alabama 72, #12 Grand Canyon 61
Sweet 16: #4 Alabama 89, #1 North Carolina 87
Elite 8: #4 Alabama 89, #6 Clemson 82

Alabama will head back west again this week, staying in Tuscaloosa just a few days before heading to Arizona. Prior to tipping off against defending champion UConn on Saturday night, the team will go through media day and multiple practices in Phoenix.

Final Four bound

Alabama will play a basketball game in April for the first time ever but it will be joined by teams with plenty of their own tournament history.

East #1 UConn: Defending champion, 5-time champion, 7th Final Four appearance
West #4 Alabama: 1st Final Four appearance
Midwest #1 Purdue: 3rd Final Four appearance – first since 1980
South #11 NC State: 2-time champion, 4th Final Four appearance – first since 1983

The Crimson Tide is the second winningest program in SEC history but this is a new spot for the program. And in its first ever Final Four appearance, it will face one of the toughest challenges it has during the Nate Oats era. UConn has won 10 consecutive tournament games, all of them by double digits. Here’s what to know for Saturday: